another grouchy mama

halloween candy.....de-lish-eee-oh-so

2009-11-10T18:06:00.000-08:00

So, the girl forgets about her Halloween candy. Yes, even though she's 6, somehow she forgets that it even exists.

Yes, I know, that is so good for her teeth, and her health, and her overall well-being.

Mostly, it is good for her mother's well-being.

Yes, I admit it. Her bags of Halloween candy were dumped into the bowl of "general" Halloween candy and I have been eating it. I started with all chocolate. Next came the tootsie rolls, followed by laffy taffy, then sweet tarts and smarties. Unfortunately, there is still flavored tootsie rolls, miscellaneous lollipops, and other foul things that cannot even be categorized.

Yes, tomorrow is Veteran's Day. November 11. All the good Halloween Candy has been pilfered from the girl's stash. C.....R.....A....P

.....

In what order do you eat the candy??

Muffin Tin MONDAY:?????

2009-11-03T19:34:00.000-08:00

Okay, so, I'm trying, right. Someone tuned me in to Muffin Tin Monday. See her blog at:
http://michellesjournalcorner.blogspot.com/2009/11/muffin-tin-monday-theme-outer-space.html

Well, outer space theme or not.... I love MTM for those nights that I have little time and need to "pretty up" leftovers. Tonight it was: tuna, mashed taters, pickles, olives, hard-boiled eggs, rice. Not very "spacey", but it worked. I had tuna salad, hubby was at a meeting. The girl (who will only eat things separately, not mixed together) had a muffin tin. The boy had a plate with all those same things on it. I only have one six-up muffin tin and have had no time to pick up a cute silicone tin with fancy shapes. Who cares? It still works. The girl enjoys eating "cupcakes" for dinner......

Make it work, ladies. You don't have to be so fancy about it!

Oh...by the way....it is TUESDAY!

Self care...REALLY, I need some ideas...

2009-11-02T11:47:00.000-08:00

So, my last posted hinted at the fact that I need some self-care ideas. But...REALLY... I need some self care ideas. I may as well just go out and say it: I need some self care ideas. My problem is I feel so f*ing guilty when I self care. So, my self care becomes clandestine and secret and..... not so great.

Here is my idea of self care:

*going to the grocery store without kids
*taking a bath for 7.25 minutes without a kid joining me in the tub
*rolling over in bed for 15-20 seconds so the boy gets my back instead of nursing on my sore nipples...
*blogging, reading blogs, checking facebook...
*drinking 750 ml of wine...(I checked)...before taking the girl to ballet class
*reading a trashy "Reacher" novel while nursing...
*taking a dance class and leaving the kids with a baby sitter for 1.5 hours...
*showering by myself and soaking in the warm water (3 days per week at 5:00 am.)
*eating food that's bad for me: Chef-Boy-R-Dee Raviolis and Chicken Pot Pie in the Microwave...
*eating chocolate ANYTHING
*cursing loudly when no one can hear (except the baby)
*turning up the music WAY LOUD on my way to work so I can sing and not worry about the lyrics or volume...

CLEARLY,
I need more ideas for healthy self care. PLEASE leave a comment.

Grocery Store

2009-11-02T09:32:00.000-08:00

I know it has been two months since my last post, but instead of giving excuses or explanations, I'm just going to blog on....

So, I went to the grocery store yesterday. It's my Sunday afternoon "alone time". Yes. Really. Going to the store without kids somehow counts as "alone time" according to the man.
So, I have the headphones blaring and darn it all if I'm not going to make this grocery trip last AS-----LONG-----AS-----HUMANLY-------POSSIBLE!! I have only a few things on my list:
milk
eggs
a few ingredients for a soup I hope to make this week

But, I can inspect bananas for freshness for many minutes. Apple sauce needs to be carefully checked for added sugar. And darn it all, where in the heck do they keep the chives, anyway?

So, by the time I make it to the checkout, I have $85 worth of stuff.

I ask you, is an $85 grocery trip worth a 1 and 1/2 hour grocery trip alone time musical extravaganza???

It is for me.

Of course I get home and the boy is desperate for some nursing time, the girl wants to play go fish and the man is asking what the dinner plans are.

This is my life. I get down time wherever I can.

What do you do for "self care"?? Ha ha. No really, I'd love to get some suggestions.

Peaceful Saturday Mornings

2009-09-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

So, all I wanted was a peaceful Saturday morning. Sigh. Why is that so hard?

First off, The Girl woke up pre-7:00am. Yes, that's the same girl that needs multiple proddings and kisses and yank-the-covers-off to get up at 7:00 during the week. So at 6:something, I hear her feet thumping down the stairs.

The Boy wakes up at 7:01, so I get out of bed with him so The Man can sleep a little longer.

I make some coffee and join The Girl who is finishing the movie we started watching last night.

Aaaahhh.... yes! Let's finish that movie night. I'll sit on my butt, drink my coffee and get this day started in a slow, peaceful way.

Not happening. Before I knew it, I had a squirmy girl in my lap, a boy who wanted to nurse, and a husband who wanted some breakfast. DAMN! Everyone wants my attention and all I want is a few minutes to veg.

I guess mornings are mornings, whether weekday or weekend. No relaxing for me.....

It's just a number

2009-08-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

Wow! Wowee wow wow. I just checked back on my blog after over 20 days of not posting. I noticed that there have been 42 views. 42? Really? I know it doesn't seem like a lot, but to me it does! No one even knows about this blog. Well, I guess 42 people do! And some of you have even left comments.... Kinda makes this grouchy mama......less grouchy. Thanks for stopping by and reading my rants.

Hopefully I'll be back to posting soon. Life took a turn for the busy in August. Hopefully now it will slow down a bit.

See why I get overwhelmed?

2009-08-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

I was feeling very overwhelmed today with my messy house. Everywhere I looked there was stuff and crap and dirt!

So, I buckled down, for two hours, while The Boy napped, The Girl had some screen time and I folded, put away, sorted, filed, picked up, wiped, organized, and swept. Darn it, I didn't have time to dig out the vacuum! :)

So, while I was making dinner tonight, I gave The Boy some cooked Orzo pasta. (If you're unfamiliar with Orzo, each piece is about twice the size of a grain of rice.) He was busy, happily, for 15-20 minutes, putting the pasta into bowls AND ALL OVER THE FLOOR!!

By the time dinner was served on the dining room table, the pasta was all over my bare feet and tracked all over the house. Argh!

Luckily, The Man came home from his evening meeting while we were still eating dinner. He joined us for dinner and actually helped sweep up the mess in the kitchen before the dual melt down occurred. (Yes, both children, at top volume.....story for another post.)

So, my house remains relatively "clean" tonight. Well, "clean" enough that I won't be overwhelmed tomorrow and will actually enjoy a family morning bike ride, instead of thinking of all of the other things I should be doing.

Sleepovers: my new best friend

2009-08-04T13:42:00.001-07:00

The Girl is having a play date with a friend.....leading to a sleepover. This is the best thing ever. I have been getting so much done this afternoon (read: spending too much time online, too little time with laundry...)! The girls are off playing "baby" and The Boy is napping.

Woo Hoo!! Time for me to do WHATEVER I WANT.

This is pure sweetness.

Of course, tonight, when I put a 1 year old and two 5 year olds to bed.....with no help from a hubby who has a late meeting.....I may have to post again.....with a gripe....

But, for now, I'm LOVING it!

Communication

2009-07-31T11:28:00.000-07:00

I know The Boy is just trying to communicate.

He is just trying to say "Look mom!"
or "I want that, mom!"
or "Pick me up, mom!"
or "I'm hungry, mom!"

But the persistent, piercing, whining is getting to me!

We need to get more signs in his vocabulary. They work, but he doesn't know enough. What's the sign for: "Wait a minute, sweetie, I'm buttering your sister's pancakes and I'll pick you up in a minute. IN A MINUTE!!"

Save me from this brain-numbing squeal......

P.S. About my last post: Don't worry, no WAY am I pregnant. No WAY could I handle #3. Hubby has an appt. with the "snipper" this Friday. TMI?? Sorry.

Addiction

2009-07-29T13:06:00.000-07:00

I am addicted to Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee Mini Raviolis. I have had them for lunch 7 times in the last 10 days. I don't know why I am craving them so much. Could it be:

They are quick and easy to make.
They are a comfort food from my childhood.
They are delicious (at least to my palette right now).

The last time I craved a food so much it was bacon, and I was pregnant with The Girl.

Uh oh........

Oh, damn!

2009-07-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

This morning I allowed The Boy to stand on a chair to watch his sister make a peanut butter sandwich.

What do I get for being such a nice mom?

He knocked my full and hot coffee cup all over the counter.

Grrrrr......after wiping it all up, I seriously considered sucking the coffee out of the wet cloth.

I so need my morning coffee!

Shower Sharing Blues

2009-07-25T11:25:00.001-07:00

Well, I knew the time would get here eventually, and this morning I realized it's true: there is not enough room in our shower!

We have been taking family showers forever. It started before my husband and I were even married. We would start the day together in the shower. It was a good place for conversation, warmth. Not (usually) anything sexual, just a way to bond.

While I was pregnant with The Girl, my belly got too big for the two of us to comfortably fit in our small tub shower. So hubby started the project of a new shower.

The new shower was about 2' x 4' of deluxe space! The water sprays out of the shower head with extreme force. It is awesome.

The Boy loved the shower since day 1. I would take him in there in a water wrap and he calmed right down. As soon as he could sit up, he would plop on the floor of the shower while we soaped up.

But, this morning, with all four of us in there, I felt a little.....crowded. My feet got stepped on by the dancing Girl. I had to wait my turn to rinse the shampoo out of my hair.

Makes me sad. Showering alone can be a wonderful luxury....but showering as a family....I guess it will just have to be a good memory.

Am I the only one who does this??

2009-07-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

So, I decide to work on the laundry today. (Actually, I can barely walk through the laundry room because of all the dirty stuff piled up.) As I start to dump all the unfolded crap from the dryer on top of the unfolded crap in the laundry basket, I decide I should first check the stuff in the washer.

I wonder, "How long has this stuff been sitting here, washed? Did I wash it yesterday? Hmmmmm......no, I don't think so. I didn't have time yesterday (read: motivation, desire) to fold this shit in the dryer, so I just ran the dryer again. I think these things were washed TWO DAYS ago." I take a whiff and the washed stuff smells a bit....unclean. So, I set it to warm, add some soap and wash this load again. The stuff in the dryer? Well, I don't need to deal with it until the washer's done. So, it stays in there.

Whew. I think I'll go online, since there's no laundry to do!

That's it?

2009-07-21T13:46:00.001-07:00

So, it took me less than 5 minutes to create this blog. And in that 5 minutes I microwaved some raviolis for lunch (yes, the totally non-nutritious Chef-Boy-R-Dee kind, nothing organic or wholesome included) and wiped up a puddle of water spilled by The Girl. Cool. It is just that easy.

So, why am I starting a blog? It's not like I have a ton of time, being a teacher and a mom and a wife and a community volunteer and, and, and.... Well, all the "mom" or "parenting" blogs I follow are so dang uplifting, so positive-viewpoint, I just needed to vent a bit and say, you know, "Some days I do have gin before noon because a slight buzz helps me make it through the day!" I need an outlet to vent my reality to others.

So there it is.